Viewpoint

Here, a monthly perspective from Consumers Union on the latest challenges—and possible solutions—facing U.S. consumers today. See archived letters.

Toyotas recommended

This issue includes automotive news on two related fronts. Click here to see our latest auto reliability Ratings, drawn from Consumer Reports subscribers' experiences with 1.3 million vehicles. We are also reinstating the recommendations for eight Toyota models that the automaker recalled in January.

Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Highlander, Matrix, RAV4, Sequoia, and Tundra models were recalled because of concerns about possible unintended acceleration related to sticking accelerator pedals. We believe that Toyota has adequately addressed the problem of unintended acceleration and that its new vehicles on sale now are fundamentally safe.

The models meet all requirements for our "recommended" label, designated with a : They performed well in our tests, have average or better reliability in our subscriber survey, and performed at least adequately if included in government and insurance-industry crash and rollover tests.

The problem and the fix

We suspended our recommendations of the eight models in January after Toyota recalled them and issued a "stop sale." Since then, we've monitored the recall and other developments and conducted our own analyses. Here's what we found:

• New versions of the affected models have been built with a re-engineered accelerator-pedal assembly designed to prevent sticking problems.
• More than 1.8 million of the 2.3 million recalled vehicles have had the suspect part fixed, a higher compliance rate than average. (If you're considering buying a vehicle subject to the recall, confirm with a Toyota dealer that recall work was performed.) A Consumer Reports survey found that almost all Toyota owners we contacted who had responded to the recall were highly satisfied with the process.
• All 2011 Toyotas include brake-override systems, which help stop unintended acceleration. Many of the recalled Toyotas have been retrofitted with the system. We tested it on our recalled Avalon and Camry and found it effective.
• Incidents of Toyotas that generated complaints about vehicle-speed control in the government's consumer database have dropped significantly in recent months.

The government continues to investigate sudden unintended acceleration. We'll follow that and related developments, report recalls and other auto safety issues, and monitor complaints to quickly identify problems. For the latest auto-safety news, go to www.ConsumerReports.org/carsafety.